Small remote-controlled cars that move around the living room and react to special obstacles on the track with spinning tires, speeding or losing control. This description will probably make many people think of Nintendo’s Mario Kart Live game. This game allows you to drive physical Mario and Luigi karts around your living room through the Switch console. Creator Damian Glinowski has developed an open source DIY alternative that makes the fun of racing possible without the proprietary technology.
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Under the hood of the little car is an ESP32 at work, controlling four small 3 V DC motors. The components are powered by a lithium-ion battery, which can be charged directly via USB-C using the car’s built-in charging circuit. The technology is applied to specially designed PCBs.
3d printed body
To make sure the cars aren’t just standard remote-controlled toys, underneath the 3D printed body is a sensor module with a magnetic switch and a color sensor. If you control your racer during a hot race over a magnetic obstacle or power-up on the ground, the magnetic switch reports it. This means that the color sensor reads the color of the section of road the car is driving on and the car reacts based on the color.
When you see a green obstacle you lose control for a moment, when you see a white obstacle you speed up, or when you see a black obstacle you slow down. These “action fields” consist of a thin magnetic plate with colored stickers on it.
These components can be used to plan routes that are not only new and varied every time, but they can also be quickly set up and dismantled.
These are green and white disc barriers on the road that are read through color sensors.
(Image: Damian Glinozecki (Link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jzG-BMannc),
The BLE compatibility of ESP32 is used to control cars. An additional controller, also based on the ESP32, connects to the cars wirelessly. The controller consists of an analog stick and four buttons for controls.
Cars are controlled through this controller.
(Image: Damian Glinozecki (Link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jzG-BMannc),
Glinozecki has published a video about the project on his YouTube channel, where you can see the cars in action. There he also explains his thoughts while choosing technology.
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My Kickstarter Failed, So I Open Sourced It
All data, Gerber files, KiCad files, parts lists and source code for this project can be found here GitHub project page,
If you already have a vehicle but still need a remote control, you will definitely find ideas in our article on DIY remote controls for vehicles and robots.
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